Disney buys stake in Hulu

Disney has joined News Corp and NBC Universal as a partner in Hulu.com. Disney did not reveal the stake it had purchased in Hulu but reports suggest it had bought a 30 per cent share of the venture launched in 2007.

The addition of Disney, which owns US TV network ABC, to the Hulu line-up is seen as a major coup for the online video venture, giving Hulu shows from three of the four major US broadcast networks — NBC, News Corp’s Fox and now ABC.

The other major US broadcast player, CBS, distributes its shows on its own online video portal, TV.com, which it purchased last year, and through Apple’s iTunes.

Hulu passed Yahoo in March to become the number three online video site in the United States with a 2.6 percent share of the videos watched online during the month (See ATV news 1/04/09).